Lewis and Clark Brewing Company

With a passion for home brewing and background in marketing Max Pigman purchased the Sleeping Giant Brewing Company back in 2001. He changed the name to Lewis & Clark Brewing in 2005 and operated the brewery and tap room under the Brewhouse restaurant for about 9 years. After looking for several years for a new location to enable the business to grow he finally found the perfect spot in the old Columbia Paint factory. The building (or complex of buildings) took over 3 years to renovate (with some of the buildings dating back to 1887) but now offers almost 4X the space for brewing operations and a unique retail space for customers to enjoy 12 beers on tap in the Tap Room.

Since the move the business has exploded now employing over 20 people and experienced growth of 107% last year. They look to grow another 60-80% this year and have added several tanks, more equipment and additional staff to increase capacity. Cans are a big part of their growth as they now can 5 flavors (with 2 more to be added soon) and they have recently introduced their beers to the Missoula and Bozeman markets. This growth has enabled them to spend over $100k locally in goods and services already this year and they are firm believers in supporting local Helena businesses whenever possible.

The Tap Room is a great place to try all the flavors they brew and it’s open from 2-8pm, they are just finishing the final touches on a brand-new patio (you may have seen some of the amazing murals being painted on the patio from Montana Ave) the grand opening for the patio will be August 4th and will feature live music from several bands as a fund raiser for “The Lost & Foundation”